18. Sebastian

CHAPTER 18

SEBASTIAN

The night had been a disaster. He'd been stressing about Henry, and instead Brandon had appeared back in his life. Sebastian should have known something would happen and not let Charlie be left alone. Everyone had been focused on him, and Charlie had gotten hurt. If he hadn't arrived when he did, how far would Brandon have gone? He didn't want to think about it.

Once they were done with the police and Charlie had put his foot down about not going to hospital, they were back home. Sebastian double-locked the front door, so it felt safer. Neither of them had any appetite, even though they hadn't eaten all night. They were in the bedroom and Sebastian was terrified to touch Charlie in case he hurt him again.

"Would you like a bath?" he asked.

"That sounds amazing, but do you even have one?"

"Yeah, it's on the other side of the apartment, next to my office."

"You have three bathrooms in this place. Isn't it a pain in the arse to clean them all?"

"I have a cleaner."

Charlie chuckled. "Of course you do. Well, a bath sounds wonderful. Are you going to join me?"

There was a hopeful look in his eye, but Sebastian was hesitant. Something was holding him back. He felt responsible for what had happened.

"It might not be big enough for both of us, but I can wash you. How does that sound?"

"I'm not going to break, you know."

"I know. Just... let's get you in the bath and all relaxed."

Charlie sighed, but nodded. Sebastian manoeuvred Charlie onto the bed, so he was sitting, and told him to wait whilst he got things ready. He really wanted to kiss Charlie, but again something was holding him back, so he went to the other bathroom and started running the water. Sebastian had a gazillion different bubble baths, bombs, salts and all manner of things. Bex had stocked this place up when she'd once stayed over and he'd offered her shower gel as bubble bath. The next day she'd marched him out to a department store, and he'd come back a few thousand dollars lighter. He wouldn't mind, but he never had a bath. It was always showers. He'd only had this bathroom fitted out like this, so he had the option if he wanted it.

The bath filled up quickly, with bubbles doubling the height. With a few adjustments, he had the water perfect. He turned to get Charlie and was startled to see he was in the doorway watching him.

"How long have you been there?"

"A while. It was cute watching you fuss over the water temperature."

He blushed, but smiled. He wanted Charlie to be comfortable.

"Come on, get undressed and get in."

"I . . . err . . . need some help."

Sebastian's stomach lurched. That bastard had done this to his sweet Charlie. He nodded, as he wasn't sure he could get any words out without getting choked up. Charlie needed him to be strong.

He started by unbuttoning his shirt gently. When he pulled it open, he wanted to be sick. The bruising on Charlie's body gave Sebastian an immediate flashback to seeing his own the same way. The difference was that Sebastian could have fought back if he wanted to; he just chose not to. Charlie was innocent and if it wasn't for his connection to Sebastian, this never would have happened.

"Hey. You know this isn't your fault, don't you?"

Sebastian nodded, not making eye contact. He didn't want Charlie to see him upset, but his man would not be fobbed off.

"Look at me, Sebastian."

He did, his eyes watering. Charlie's face softened.

"I stayed in the bathroom to help Hunter. And I very much was the one who kneed Brandon in the bollocks."

"You didn't?"

"That's probably what tipped him over the edge. So, stop blaming yourself and help me get these clothes off. After you kiss me."

Sebastian smiled and obliged. It wasn't one of their usual kisses, but it wasn't PG, either. They broke the kiss, and he chuckled.

"What?" asked Charlie.

"I can't believe you kneed him in the balls."

Charlie laughed and then winced in pain. Sebastian went back to undressing Charlie. Once the shirt was off, he told Charlie to lean on his shoulders as he removed the shoes and socks. He pulled the trousers and boxers down in one motion and was slapped in the face by Charlie's hard dick.

"Sorry, he just sees you down there and gets all excited."

"I'll take care of him later when you're all relaxed."

He guided Charlie into the bath and supported him as he gently lowered himself. There was a groan of pleasure as he sank into the water. Sebastian quickly went to his office and brought back a chair, so he could sit by the bath as Charlie relaxed. Even with the water, the bruising was prominent. Every time Sebastian saw it, he was hit with a multitude of emotions. The worst was fear that this amazing thing they were building together had now been irreparably damaged.

Sebastian had barely slept. After the bath, he'd offered to sleep in the spare room so he didn't accidentally roll over on Charlie in the night, which had resulted in some harsh words from his boyfriend. They'd cuddled up like they always did, but Sebastian was terrified to squeeze too tightly. He was a big guy and could easily hurt Charlie by accident.

During breakfast, Charlie was wincing in pain and Sebastian had to put his foot down and insisted they see a doctor. Then there was another disagreement about Charlie using his travel insurance to pay for it. He was being infuriating as he wouldn't let Sebastian just take charge and look after him. His stubbornness, which had been admirable and endearing before, was driving Sebastian crazy. He hated feeling helpless.

The doctor had taken an X-ray and thankfully, his ribs were just bruised and nothing was broken. They ran some other tests to check everything else was okay. They prescribed some powerful painkillers which were anti-inflammatory. When they were leaving, Charlie overheard the three-grand bill and glared at Sebastian, but said nothing. They drove back in silence. Charlie went to lie down, and was asleep when Sebastian checked on him.

Bex had called to check up, as had Deacon. Sebastian had reassured them they were both fine, but he wouldn't be in the office for the foreseeable. He wasn't leaving Charlie on his own right now. His phone rang with an unknown local number. He went to his office before answering it.

"Sebastian Steele."

"Mr Steele. This is Lieutenant Simmons from NYPD. We need you to come in to the station to answer a few questions regarding last night's incident."

"Sure. When would you like to see me?"

"As soon as you can get here."

"Do you need Charlie as well? He's sleeping."

"No. Mr Davidson isn't required right now. It's just you we need to see."

"I don't really want to leave him on his own."

"It's in your best interests to get here as soon as possible, Mr Steele. I think you'd prefer that to us having to come and get you."

Sebastian knew what he was getting at. They were going to arrest him and were giving him the option to come in to the station with no fuss.

"Do I need my lawyer?"

"That would sensible, Mr Steele."

Simmons gave Sebastian details of the station he needed to attend and he committed to be there within an hour. His next call was to Bex, who guessed, as he had, that Brandon was pressing assault charges. Bex offered to come over and stay in the apartment to keep Charlie company, but he needed her to get a lawyer sorted. Their regular lawyer was corporate, not criminal. He called Deacon, who was happy to come over and watch Charlie.

There was no point in worrying Charlie about this yet. He was protecting his partner, who had been assaulted by Brandon. This should be a formality, but he had to go through the motions. Charlie was fast asleep, and he didn't want to wake him up, so he left him to it and waited for Deacon to arrive. He was there within ten minutes.

"Charlie's asleep," he whispered. "If he wakes up, just say I had to go down and make a statement."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, there's no point in stressing him out. He's been through enough."

"Okay. I'll let you know if he wakes up. How long do you think you'll be down there?"

"Hopefully only a couple of hours."

"What if they hold you overnight?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. Oh, did Hunter get home okay?"

"He lived with Brandon which was a no go obviously, so I dropped him with a friend he called."

Sebastian nodded and grabbed his jacket, keys and phone before leaving. He had twenty minutes to get to the police station.

Arriving at the police station, he was shocked to see his friend Max Brady. They hugged.

"What are you doing here?"

"Did you forget your friend was a shit-hot criminal lawyer?"

How could he forget that? Max hadn't even entered his head as an option. He was panicking and had just asked his sister to sort it, which it looked like she did.

"Wait. Are you allowed to represent me, given we're friends?"

"Yes, it's fine. Be different if we were more than friends, but as I've told you before, you're far too old for me."

Sebastian laughed. Max was twenty-nine, and part of his single friend group. They'd met one night. Max was estranged from his family and had been celebrating passing the bar exam on his own. Sebastian had experienced a dreadful week at work as their first deal for the Seattle region had fallen through. They weren't each other's type, but had got chatting, and had been friends ever since. Max was always the one to drag Sebastian out to get laid if he was becoming too grumpy. It was astonishing how chilled-out Max was, given what happened to him when he was younger. Sebastian regarded him as a role model. Age had nothing to do with it. Max had earned that title.

"Before we go in, I need to tell you something about Simmons."

"What? He's a homophobe?"

"You're not far off. He's one of us."

"So, he's closeted?"

"No, it's more complex than that. He's not, like, out and proud. But it's not a big secret hanging over him. He never dates or hooks up. And he wants Captain, so any time he has to deal with someone from the community, he likes to make sure he is going by the book. When it comes to promotion time, nobody will be able to say he was too lenient on his own."

"Great. A self-hating, ambitious queen. I guess he hates rich middle-class white gays as well?"

Max winced. Sebastian laughed. What more could he do?

He'd been at the police station for three hours and was getting restless. They'd formally arrested him and taken his belongings. He'd been left in an interview room with Max, who was always calm, but even he was getting irritated at the holdup. Simmons had yet to make an appearance – the same guy who'd implied if Sebastian didn't get here quickly, they'd turn up at his apartment and arrest him. He was about to ask Max to speak to someone when the door opened.

Two men entered. One looked suave and oozed charisma. The other looked like a potato. Simmons introduced himself, and of course he was the suave one. They took their seats and Sebastian was reminded of his rights. The tape started and formal introductions were made before Simmons wasted no time in getting to the point.

"What's your relationship with Brandon Fletcher?"

"We were boyfriends for two years, which ended ten years ago."

"And why did that relationship end?"

"How is this relevant?"

"Just answer the question, Mr Steele."

"It wasn't a good relationship. He's a very controlling man and liked to throw his weight around. One day, he put me in hospital and I didn't go back to him."

"You left him in possession of a two-million-dollar apartment, didn't you?"

"Yes. I signed it over to him."

"Why would you do that if he abused you?"

"I wanted a clean break and had no intention of staying in that apartment. It was agreed he'd never contact me again if I signed the apartment over to him."

"Must be nice to be so rich you can just give away apartments worth millions to people who allegedly abuse you."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, you never filed a report against Mr Fletcher. You weren't married. From what we've been able to discover, you made all of the payments on the apartment. And yet you just gave it away."

"I told you why."

Simmons whispered something to his colleague, who took out a picture. It was of Brandon and the bruising to his face. Sebastian winced. He didn't realise he could do something like that.

"Are you responsible for this, Mr Steele?"

"Yes, but I was only acting in self-defence."

"Self-defence? I don't see any bruises on you."

"You know what I mean. He was kicking the crap out of Charlie. I had to get Brandon off him."

"Yes, we've read Mr Davidson's statement and received his medical reports. The question here is, did you need to punch Mr Fletcher in the face in order to stop him assaulting Mr Davidson, or did you see it as a perfect opportunity to assault a man who took a two-million-dollar apartment away from you?"

What the fuck? He wasn't sure what to say to that. Yes, he could have just pulled Brandon off and restrained him, but with Charlie on the floor crying in pain as Brandon booted him, he had seen red.

"I'd like to understand why you're bringing up something which happened ten years ago as a motive for this incident," said Max calmly. "You see, Mr Fletcher has form for this behaviour. Did you not speak to his most recent partner, Hunter? He was covered in bruises as well."

"We've been unable to locate him."

"And where is Mr Fletcher now?"

"He's on bail."

"And yet here you are, attacking my client with allegations. You've clearly spent the last three hours trying to pull something together whilst you left us waiting. Mr Steele has admitted he assaulted Mr Fletcher and he has provided a justification. I'm positive the district attorney wouldn't even entertain taking it to trial. So, why don't we stop this fishing expedition and either charge my client or let him go?"

Sebastian wasn't sure what to say, although he suspected he wasn't supposed to say anything. This was Max's domain.

"Mr Brady, can we have a word outside?"

Max nodded, and the interview ended. Sebastian was told to stay put whilst the others went off to talk. If anyone could get the DA to have the whole thing thrown out, it would be Max. If Sebastian was charged, it was bound to be in the press. Would it hurt business? He wasn't sure, but he wouldn't change a thing. Sebastian had done what anyone else would have for someone they love. He had no regrets, and he admired Charlie for pressing charges. He knew he was doing it to protect Hunter, rather than making it about himself, which was pure Charlie. Max came back into the room.

"Right, I've got a deal for you. Brandon will drop the charges if Charlie does the same."

"That fucker."

"I know, but this is the cleanest and quickest way to put the thing to bed."

"And what if Hunter presses charges?"

"That's not a condition. I got the impression Brandon is pretty confident that won't happen."

"Of course he is. I can't ask Charlie to do that. If he wants to press charges, I have to support him. No question."

"And I get that. But Simmons is pretty confident the DA will charge you and it'll go to trial. Your entire history with Brandon will be in the press. Is it really worth it?"

Sebastian didn't care about any of that – well, he did, but it was nothing compared to his love for Charlie. He knew that if he asked Charlie to drop the charges, he'd do it in a heartbeat, but Sebastian would never put him in that position.